NEW YORK — The wife of Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has filed divorce papers, a day after prosecutors charged a woman with stalking him and extorting money regarding an extramarital affair.

Mary Cashman filed the paperwork Friday in Stamford, Conn.

Her lawyer didn’t return a phone message Saturday. A spokesman for Brian Cashman says the family wouldn’t have any comment.

On Thursday, 36-year-old Louise Neathway was charged with harassing Cashman and threatening to harm his reputation if he didn’t give her thousands of dollars.

Neathway’s lawyers deny it and say Cashman turned on her when their relationship ended badly.

A person familiar with the family says Cashman and his wife have been separated and living apart for a year. The person asked not to be named because of the private nature of the matter.

Sod squad at work in Miami

Just more than a month before the first exhibition games are played, Marlins Park is taking the pivotal step from building to ball field.

Amid the pungent aroma of fertilizer, local politicians and Marlins officials laid the first few pieces of sod along the third-base line Thursday to begin installation of 110,000 square feet of Bermuda sod, which will take three days to complete.

The Marlins envision a lush lawn that they can turn into a true home-field advantage. The plan is to keep the grass relatively long, about ¾-inch, to create a slower field than they had at Sun Life Stadium to exploit team speed and benefit their pitchers and fielders.

“When you’ve got Gold Glove pitching and speed at the top of your lineup like (Jose) Reyes and (Emilio) Bonifacio, you want to give them the opportunity to get on base as much as possible,” Marlins president David Samson said. “If we don’t lead the league in infield hits, it means we’re not having a good year.”

Last season Bonifacio’s 45 infield hits were second in the majors to Juan Pierre’s 46 while playing on a home field with one of the fastest surfaces in baseball. Reyes, who will join him at the top of the order, had 24 with the Mets.

Manicuring fields to suit the home team is a long-standing practice in baseball. Chicago’s “Go-Go” White Sox teams in the 1960s were notorious for grooming various parts of the field to play to their strengths and cover weaknesses.

The longest grass in the majors may be at Wrigley Field, said P.J. Loyello, a senior vice president for the Marlins. The Yankees and Giants keep theirs long, he said, while the turf at Dodger Stadium is short and fast.

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